1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an advanced intelligent network system that provides reservation services for Internet Service subscribers.
2. Background of the Invention
Over the last ten years, use of the Internet has grown rapidly. A large segment of this growth stems from an increase in individual dial-up subscribers. These dial-up subscribers use the public switched telephone network (xe2x80x9cPSTNxe2x80x9d) to establish connections to their Internet Service Providers (xe2x80x9cISPsxe2x80x9d). FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating how these dial-up subscribers, or users, connect to their ISPs using PSTN 10. To support multiple connections, ISPs must maintain numerous telephone lines connected to modems. Rather than advertising a different telephone number for each telephone line, ISPs generally advertise a limited number of telephone access numbers. Each telephone access number corresponds to one or more telephone lines. These telephone lines may be made up of, e.g., individual POTS lines, one or more T1 lines, or Primary Rate ISDN (xe2x80x9cPRIxe2x80x9d) lines. For simplicity, the figures and discussion herein show the connection to be made up of PRI lines 21, as shown in FIG. 1.
PRI lines 21 lead to the ISP 20 where they are connected to multi-line hunt group (xe2x80x9cMLHGxe2x80x9d) 22 as shown in FIG. 1. MLHG 22 is a modem pool allowing multiple simultaneous connections and is controlled by access server 23. MLHG 22 takes incoming subscriber calls and routes them to the first open modem in the modem pool. When caller 30 dials the telephone access number for ISP 20 (using computer 31, modem 32 and subscriber line 33), PSTN 10 processes the call like any other call. That is, the call is routed between caller 30 and called party (in this case, ISP 20) through one or more switches. If the ISP""s lines are all busy, or xe2x80x9coff-hookxe2x80x9d, i.e., there are no voice communications paths available, the caller gets a busy-signal, which is provided by the PSTN. On the other hand, if lines are available, the ISP""s switch will terminate the call and it is the ISP""s responsibility to answer the call, verify the user authorization to access the ISP""s system, and setup the caller""s connection to the Internet.
From the ISP""s point of view, several intervening steps must be accomplished before granting the caller access to the Internet. For example, when a call reaches ISP 20 via PRI lines 21 and MLHG 22, access server 23 answers the call. After answering the call, access server 23 must determine whether or not the caller should be granted access and if so, to which services. Access server 23 queries caller 30 for information such as a username and password for use in identifying caller 30 and caller 30""s authorized services. The dialog between caller 30 and access server 23 is usually performed automatically between access server 23 and communications software operating on computer 31.
Generally, ISPs use centralized servers to store and manage their subscriber databases. Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (xe2x80x9cRADIUSxe2x80x9d) server 24, having database 24a, shown in FIG. 1, is functionally connected to access server 23 and provides this centralized management. Thus, access server 23 collects username and password information from caller 30 and passes it on to RADIUS server 24. After RADIUS server 24 verifies caller 30""s username and password, it provides access server 23 with configuration information specific to caller 30. Access server 23 uses the configuration information to provide the authorized services to caller 30. Access servers and RADIUS servers are described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/133,299, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Additional information on access servers and RADIUS servers may be found in Rigney et al., Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS), Network Working Group, January, 1997, or in Rigney et al., RADIUS Accounting, Network Working Group, April, 1997.
It is well known in the art that not all subscribers connect to their ISPs at the same time. Additionally, not all subscribers connect every day, nor do they connect for the same length of time each session. For this reason, it is not practical or realistic for ISPs to provide a 1:1 ratio of lines to subscribers. ISPs must pay their local telephone service providers for each telephone line maintained. Instead, ISPs have developed formulas to determine the appropriate number of telephone lines required. In general, a telephone line to user ratio of at least 1:10 provides an acceptable level of service. However, as Internet usage continues to grow, it is becoming more difficult to predict the requirements for telephone lines into an ISP.
As discussed above, a significant number of Internet subscribers connect using dial-up connections from their homes. These subscribers typically connect before or after work or school. As a result, there are certain peak times for accessing ISPs via the PSTN. During these peak times, subscribers may not be able to connect to their ISPs because all of the ISP""s telephone lines are busy. As described above, ISPs cannot reasonably support every subscriber with simultaneous connections. However, if an ISP does not provide sufficient telephone lines to minimize subscriber frustrations due to failed connections, the ISP could lose current or future subscribers to competing ISPs. Thus, ISPs must balance their need to reduce costs against their subscribers"" need for adequate access to the Internet.
One way to balance these competing interests is to obtain flexible access to increased telephone lines from local telephone service providers. Another means of balancing these interests is to provide a system and method for subscribers to reserve time slots with their ISPs. ISPs could create such a reservation by limiting access to reserved subscribers"" accounts during peak periods. In such a system, subscribers would reserve a time slot, and the ISP would program its computers to allow log-ins only by those subscribers having reservations.
Such a reservation system may be effective for limiting the number of subscribers trying to access the ISP network. This may reduce the load on the ISP""s systems and help ensure adequate processing speed for those subscribers already connected. However, such an ISP-based reservation system does not address the real problem of allocating the ISP""s telephone and modem resources. This is true because non-reserved subscribers are not prevented from attempting access to the ISP""s system. ISPs generally have no way of monitoring or scheduling telephone access to their systems. Every attempted login ties up a telephone line and modem for as long as it takes the ISP""s authentication process to determine that the subscriber does not have a valid reservation. Additionally, significant changes to the existing billing structure employed by ISPs may be required. Thus there is a need for a more efficient reservation system directed to controlling use of the ISP""s telephone access resources.
The present invention utilizes an Advanced Intelligent Network (xe2x80x9cAINxe2x80x9d) to provide an automated service for scheduling Internet time slots for ISP subscribers. AIN systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,301 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,533 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIGS. 2a through 3 show the key components of the AIN used in the present invention. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts detailing the two primary stages comprising the present invention: reservation setup and reservation processing. The steps described herein can be performed by computer-readable program code operating on the various AIN components and other computer systems, as described below.
The present invention is an AIN-based system and method that allows Internet subscribers to reserve time slots for accessing their ISPs via dial-up telephone connections. The system provides three alternatives that subscribers can use to make a reservation on the system. In all three cases, the subscriber identifies the time slot requested and the system returns a confirmation number if the reservation is successfully placed.
The first alternative allows pre-subscribed users, or xe2x80x9cfeature code users,xe2x80x9d to have their billing and other information such as the name of their ISP pre-entered into a system database. A suitable AIN trigger is provisioned on the pre-subscribed users"" telephone lines. Such feature code users can use a simplified process for making their reservations. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, feature code users may pre-pay for a designated number of reservation slots per month. When a pre-subscribed caller uses the assigned feature code to access the reservation system, a Service Control Point (xe2x80x9cSCPxe2x80x9d) checks the customer database to determine the number of reservation slots the caller has available and processes the reservation request if slots are available.
In the second alternative, the present invention provides reserved Internet access to infrequent users, or xe2x80x9ccasual users.xe2x80x9d These casual users must provide billing and ISP information at the time of each use. Casual users access the reservation system by dialing a telephone access number assigned to the system. This access number for the reservation system is provisioned with a suitable AIN trigger. When a casual user calls the reservation system telephone access number, the trigger is activated and the call is temporarily suspended. This trigger initiates a database query to the SCP to determine which Service Node (xe2x80x9cSNxe2x80x9d) should handle the reservation request. Alternatively, the telephone access number of the reservation system could correspond to a line physically assigned to a particular SN. However, using an AIN trigger and database query is preferable, because in that case the system can grow or be re-configured in a manner that is transparent to the subscribers. That is, any SN in the telephone network system can be used to collect the subscriber""s reservation request without changing the telephone access number for the reservation system and without making the subscribers aware of the change. The SN collects the required information from the caller, then returns control of the call back to the SCP, together with the data collected. After processing the reservation request, the reservation system charges the subscribers for the service and relays the reservation details to the ISP.
The third alternative of the present invention allows both pre-subscribed and casual users to make their reservations, while online, through their ISP. Subscribers requesting a reservation time slot via the Internet are prompted for the same information required of a casual user. Such information includes the reservation time slot requested and the telephone number that will be used to initiate the call. The information is collected by the ISP and transmitted to a gateway server maintained by the telephone service provider. The gateway server sends the reservation request to the AIN components that process the request and return a reservation confirmation number. The ISP server relays the confirmation number to the subscriber, together with any special access instructions.
The reservation system database resides on the SCP and has records for each ISP with fields such as the ISP""s capacity for reserved time slots and the ISP""s telephone number for reserved access. Each time a caller reserves a time slot for an ISP, the SCP updates the database with the caller""s telephone number, selected time slot and a confirmation number generated by the SCP. The caller is provided with the confirmation number for verification purposes in the event a reservation must be cancelled. Additionally, in an alternate embodiment, the confirmation number could be used by subscribed users for xe2x80x9croamingxe2x80x9d access, i.e., access from a telephone number not in the SCP""s database.
The ISP sets aside at least one telephone access number for use by subscribers having reserved time slots. When the subscriber""s time slot arrives, the subscriber dials the ISP""s reserved telephone access number. This reserved access number has a suitable AIN trigger assigned that activates a database query to the SCP. After confirming that the caller""s telephone number is in the database for that time slot and for the particular ISP, the SCP responds by sending a Continue message and a Termination_Notification request to the SSP. Upon receiving the response, the SSP terminates the call to the ISP. The SSP subsequently notifies the SCP if the line is busy, was answered, or if the caller hung up before the call was answered. The SCP uses this information to determine the billing status for the call.
In an alternate embodiment, the SCP initiates the call between the customer and the ISP when the reserved time slot begins. In this embodiment, the SCP waits until the reserved time slot arrives, then issues a Create_Call message with a Termination_Notification request to the caller""s SSP instructing the SSP to establish a call between that customer and the customer""s ISP. As discussed above, the SSP notifies the SCP if the call is answered, busy or disconnected before answer.
If the line is busy, the SCP ensures that the caller is not billed for the reservation. Similarly, if the call is properly connected, and later disconnected for any reason, the caller may re-connect during the reserved time slot without being billed for a new reservation. Once the caller is connected to the ISP, the call can be disconnected when the time slot has expired using alternate methods.
For example, the ISP could ensure that the user is disconnected by hanging up the call at the appropriate time. The ISP could also transmit periodic warnings to the caller warning the caller of the impending disconnection. The ISP could also instruct the caller to disconnect and reconnect using a non-reserved telephone access slot, if one is available. Alternatively, the ISP could allow the caller to purchase additional time slots if slots are available, so that the caller is not forced to end the session.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automated system for providing reservations for dial-up access to Internet Service Providers (xe2x80x9cISPsxe2x80x9d).
It is a further object of the present invention to use an Advanced Intelligent Network to provide billing support for Internet reservation systems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for increasing Internet subscribers"" chances of obtaining a connection to their ISPs.